The New England Patriots have risen to the top of the NFL standings. New York Jets fans could do without the flashback to their rival’s glory days.
The Patriots are riding a seven-game winning streak into Week 11 and will face their excellent defense against Justin Fields, Breece Hall and the Jets on Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
New England (8-2) tied Indianapolis and Denver for the best record in football with a series dating back to September 28. The Patriots benefited from a schedule that allowed them victory laps against bottom-ranked New Orleans, Tennessee and Cleveland.
But the Patriots also beat Buffalo on the road during that stretch to take the lead in the AFC East — and they played four strong quarters Sunday to win 28-23 over the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Drake Maye threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns and his offensive line performed better, allowing just one sack after giving up 16 in the previous three games.
The Patriots are aiming for their first eight-game winning streak since 2019. It’s also the last time New England starts a year with an 8-2 record or better — Tom Brady’s final season in town.
“We never want to take the cheese and get into this,” first-year Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said of his team’s national attention. “There’s definitely a human element to it. When things are going well, you have to be able to prepare for things when they’re not going well.”
New England has the league’s best run defense with just 792 yards allowed in 10 games, which could force more passes for the struggling Fields.
The Jets (2-7) won their second straight game Sunday despite a meager 6 of 11 for 54 yards by Fields. Star running back Hall was responsible for 42 of those 54 yards on one play when he took the go-ahead run for a touchdown to the house in a 27-20 win over Cleveland.
Hall’s season has been hot and cold, but he is 10th in the league with 664 rushing yards and he had 133 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets’ opening win over Cincinnati.
“It’s that man,” Fields said. “It’s simple. It’s that man.”
The Jets also need Fields to be the man.
Any hope of ending their 14-year playoff drought evaporated, but New York stuck with Fields over veteran Tyrod Taylor at the top position.
“I don’t care if it’s three games. I don’t care if it’s just one game. We just want to win,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “The more you win, the more confidence you gain as a player, the more confidence you gain as a team. That’s the only thing that matters to us.”
Both head coaches experienced the Jets-Pats rivalry as players: Glenn with the Jets from 1994 to 2001, Vrabel from 2001 to 2008 at the start of the Brady era. The Pats won 15 straight against the Jets from 2016-23, but the Jets ended that drought at the end of the 2023 season and also split both meetings last year.
New York returned a kick and a punt for touchdowns in the first quarter against Cleveland – the first time in franchise history that combo occurred in the same game – and Will McDonald IV tied a team record by recording four sacks. Vrabel said the Jets don’t look like a team that took away two top defensive players (Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams).
“That didn’t happen at all,” Vrabel said. “I saw an energy, I saw an excitement coming off the screen. It’s going to be a challenge. I know they’ll be ready to hit the road and we’ll just have to continue to prepare and ultimately play well.”
The Patriots’ biggest injury problems are in their backfield. Rookie TreVeyon Henderson (430 yards) suffered a knee injury but practiced in full Tuesday. Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) has missed two straight games, and he and third baseman Terrell Jennings (knee) were limited Tuesday.
Receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) and linebackers Christian Elliss (hip) and Jack Gibbens (hamstring) were also limited for New England.
The Jets are reportedly without top receiver Garrett Wilson (knee sprain) for 3-4 weeks, although Glenn left the media perplexed during his press conference by asking them to find out which players are injured by grilling the reporter who broke the news of Wilson’s new injury on Monday.
When the team’s official injury report was released, defensive lineman Harrison Phillips (foot) and cornerback Azareye’h Thomas (concussion) reportedly missed practice while McDonald (quad) and DL Braiden McGregor (shoulder) were limited.
–Field level media
